Various embodiments of the present invention relate to aircraft data systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for delivering software and/or data updates to vehicles (such as aircraft) from remote locations.
In recent years, the amount of automation and computerization present in vehicles (particularly aircraft) has increased dramatically. As pilots, drivers, passengers and others become increasingly dependent upon computerized devices to control, navigate or otherwise affect their craft, the need for current data becomes paramount. Aircraft navigation data, for example, typically includes navigation waypoint locations and frequencies, information about airports and airways, and the like, and this information changes frequently.
As aircraft move about the country or the world, it is very difficult for pilots to maintain accurate and timely information about the thousands of navigation data points that the pilot may encounter. Accordingly, many modern aircraft feature flight management systems (FMS) that make use of electronic databases (often referred to as a xe2x80x9cnavigation databasesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cNAV databasesxe2x80x9d) that contains electronic records for the various airports and navigation aids that pilots may encounter. FMS systems are typically aircraft specific, and are available from a number of vendors such as Honeywell International Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz. Navigation database information is typically provided to an airline or other aircraft owner by an FMS supplier. Information used in formulating navigation databases may be obtained from a vendor such as Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. of Denver, Colo., a division of the Boeing Company.
As will be appreciated, the information contained in the navigation database changes on a very frequent basis as new navigation aids are created, old navigation aids are retired, airports add or retire runways, or the like. Accordingly, government agencies such as the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) typically require that aircraft update navigation databases on a regular basis, such as every twenty-eight days. Other components (such as global positioning systems (GPS)) may also make use of periodic data upgrades.
Conventional techniques of updating databases have been cumbersome and time consuming. Typically, a customer (such as an airline) obtains a diskette containing the upgrade for a particular aircraft type from a database or component vendor. The customer then duplicates the diskette and distributes copied diskettes to service technicians, who then go to individual aircraft and manually load the data update using a specialized data loader, such as a Model PDL 615 portable data loader available from Demo Systems Division of Moorpark, Calif. It will be appreciated, then, that the process of duplicating, distributing and monitoring database upgrades places an administrative burden upon a database customer, particularly if the customer has a large fleet of aircraft. If the customer has multiple types of aircraft (e.g. Boeing 737-300, 737-400, MD-11 and 767 aircraft in addition to Airbus A-310 or A-320 aircraft), the administration becomes exponentially more difficult since each type of aircraft typically requires a separate navigation database. Moreover, the process of loading the data from the diskette to the FMS or other relevant component takes time (e.g. about an hour per aircraft for navigation database updates) during which the aircraft is not able to function. As such, the amount of required down time for relatively frequent updates may have an impact in terms of lost revenue for the aircraft owner.
It would be desirable, then, to provide systems and methods for updating software or data for aircraft or other vehicles that would efficiently provide current data without requiring the administrative overhead typically associated with copying and distributing diskettes.
Systems and methods for providing data updates to a vehicle component (such as a navigation database on an aircraft) make use of a system server, a vehicle server, and an administrative program. The system server is configured to receive and store said data updates from a data source. The vehicle server obtains data updates from the system server and loads the data updates into the appropriate component. In various embodiments, the aircraft server sends a verification message to the system server to indicate success or failure of the load operation. An administrative program may be configured to direct the system server to provide said data updates to the vehicle server in accordance with pre-determined rules, and a database may be used to maintain information about data upgrades for various vehicles.